Star Turns

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Many Filipinos -- men and women both -- have already made quite a splash in the entertainment world that another feat, such as Mary Rivera's role as the lola in "Spider-man: No Way Home" is no longer headline material. Her appearance in the highest grossing movie of 2021 was brief but was nonetheless a cause for celebration especially among her fellow Ilonggos, as contributing writer Vic Salas reports. 

But did you know that in the elite world of opera, in distinguished stages in the US and Europe, Evelyn Mandac, a Filipina soprano reigned as the brightest star? No other Filipino singer has surpassed her achievements in the classical music realm, as her voice student Chiara Cox writes.

In our native land, a woman is inspiring an unexpected tsunami of volunteerism and creative campaigning nationwide. A middle-class community in Quezon City did its part by declaring a day of pampering for their kasambahays, drivers, gardeners and other service workers. Bella Bonner has this heartwarming story.

How are the odds stacking up for the seekers of public office at this point in the political circus? The surveys notwithstanding, the situation is still fluid and no one can assume victory yet, not even the frontrunner. Political observer Ernesto Hilario explains.

This being International Women's Month, here's a fitting tribute to some outstanding Filipino women from their loving children. Watch again our webinar held last May which brought out some insightful items that we wouldn't have known otherwise. The participants are: Aika Robredo talking about her mother, the possible future President Leni Robredo; Nina Daza-Puyat on her mother, the original superchef Nora Daza; Melissa Ugarte on her mother, model/beauty queen/revolutionary Maita Gomez; and TJ Manotoc on his mom, activist/civic leader and former Miss International Aurora Pijuan. Powerful Filipinas who prove that, indeed, "women hold up half the sky." http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/webinar-video-loving-kids-talk-about-their-famous-mothers

Cook It Again: The Happy Home Cook: Escabeche (Sweet and Sour Fish)

Video of the Week: Dancers for Leni

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Days of Poems and Prayers

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Lent takes a deeper meaning to our world this year as we wake up each morning to dreary news -- a war in Ukraine that threatens to go nuclear, a pandemic still not completely waned, a crucial election that will define the future trajectory of our motherland.

As we do our personal reflections in these 32 days until Easter, we can get some guidance from the art of Fr. Rey Culaba, a Redemptorist priest and artist who recently celebrated his golden anniversary in the priesthood. As a gift to his parish, Our Lady of Mercy in Daly City, California, Fr. Rey painted his interpretative version of the Stations of the Cross, and we have the images here.

A major what-if for political junkies this May: if the next president has a pending liability totaling $2.3 billion for a US court judgment in effect from 2005 to 2031 (currently preventing him, his mother and his elder sister to set foot in the US or they get arrested), what will it do to US-Philippines relations?

As for other questions, existentialist or not, that we have to ponder, political activist/academic Ed Garcia invokes Bob Dylan: "the answer is blowin' in the wind."

More stories on Filipino women who matter:

Paulynn Paredes Sicam on Gilda Cordero-Fernando http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/gilda-cordero-fernando-forever-groovy

Robby Tantingco on why women rule Pampanga http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/why-women-rule-pampanga

Gemma Nemenzo on the poet Angela Manalang-Gloria http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/gemma/the-enigmatic-poetess

 Cook It Again:

The Happy Home Cook: Pompano with Chili and Pineapple — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Book Launch: 100 Poems for Leni

Video of the Week: Gayyam Ben

In The Know

How Juan Luna became the first Filipino art superstar in Europe
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/art/03/03/22/how-juan-luna-became-the-first-filipino-art-superstar?fbclid=IwAR3gDVRSfTihP8u590gbaGso3Q6tgl4dLmLaHeK9InpNngqe75ppZD7VO4k 

The Invisible, Afflicted Spy Who Led the U.S. Army Into Occupied Manila 
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/josefina-guerrero-spy-philippines-world-war-ii?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=fa168b0448-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_03_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-fa168b0448-70947933&mc_cid=fa168b0448&mc_eid=15cc48d2de

The Fascinating Life of Nick Joaquin
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/nick-joaquin-life-a00293-20190507-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220306-fbnp--nick-joaquin-life-a00293-20190507-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR046GOUTexCI96sdJXkj9r_k1SRPZWgcircJpfh1BPutSEzka1qXVt5MiQ 

FEAR AND LOATHING IN DUTERTE’S PHILIPPINES: AN INTERVIEW WITH VICENTE RAFAEL

https://fpif.org/fear-and-loathing-in-dutertes-philippines-an-interview-with-vicente-rafael/?fbclid=IwAR1-NNnyIhmTLYw7qs0iZmjrSwRXFbcHjJVJAeybZKLjrVLxen-H834lSw8

This Filipino Visited 160 Jose Rizal Monuments Around the World
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/filipino-visited-160-jose-rizal-monuments-a00293-20201002?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220301-fbnp--filipino-visited-160-jose-rizal-monuments-a00293-20201002-fbold&fbclid=IwAR2I1E6SN0TWGGNoUfjSer07q1QfnCIIACFiBwXlhSlJKK2LWzmeYdZleBg

This Filipina farmer turns heads in Canada—and not just ‘cause of her striking beauty
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/03/07/22/why-this-pinay-farmer-turns-heads-in-canada

Filipino visual artists showcase work in Paris exhibit
https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/03/04/22/filipino-visual-artists-showcase-work-in-paris-exhibit/?utm_campaign=sharedpost&fbclid=IwAR1PQ7Ru5pxOCpi1WhjcYvrJ50Uu0VMIP8gK1L_o0rgatX6s-Qr38ONxPQg

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Mother Courage

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What are these Filipino women made of?

True Grit: Risa Hontiveros, like Vice President Leni Robredo, was widowed early and had to raise her four children as a single parent. Yet, with courage and resolve, she went on to become a senator (running for a second term this May) who champions issues that directly elevate the lives of her kababayans. Veteran journalist Paulynn P. Sicam, who has seen Risa evolve through the years, sums up her accomplishments. 

Talent and Grace: The classically trained Minda Azarcon was a musical star in every sense -- singer, pianist, composer, conductor, teacher. She composed the musical score for such internationally acclaimed movies such as  Tinimbang Ka Nguni't Kulang, Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos and Insiang, among others. Until her recent death at 85, she was the epitome of grace and regality, as her student and close friend, the artist Janine Barrera-Castillo, writes.

Toughness and Resilience: Her marriage plucked her from her close-knit family in Cebu and brought her to Maine, probably the most weather-unfriendly state for Filipinos in the US. But like many Filipino women faced with similar challenges, Geraldine Chappe toughed it out and thrived, creating a small community of kababayans in the process. Her grateful husband, Durin Chappe, tells us their story. 

And then there's VP Leni, now causing sleepless nights of her opponents as her "kakampink" army of volunteers worldwide fuels her momentum as the most viable candidate against the survey-leading son of a deposed head of state. Will she manage the previously unthinkable and win? At this point in the campaign, it is important to keep in mind the wisdom of the ages: Never Ever Underestimate the Power of the Filipino Woman.

Read Again the Stories of Filipino Women in History: 

Kumander Liwayway, A Feminine Warrior by Ana Maria Nemenzo
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/kumander-liwayway-a-feminine-warrior 

Helena Benitez by Lyca Benitez-Brown
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/5/travels-with-my-aunt

Clemencia Lopez, Independista by Lyca Benitez-Brown
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/3/clemencia-lopez-independista

Sofia de Veyra by Titchie Carandang-Tiongson
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-thoroughly-modern-sofia-de-veyra 

Sor Martha de San Bernardo by Robby Tantingco
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/give-this-pampanguea-a-memorial-in-the-west-philippine-sea

Recipe of the Week: The Happy Home Cook: Manila Clams in Pinot Grigio

Video of the Week: The World’s Oldest Chinatown

In The Know

Duterte approves law amending FIA
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/03/04/duterte-approves-law-amending-fia/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sfpcg_newsletter_volume_1_issue_2_february_2022&utm_term=2022-03-04

The ‘Hiker’ statue is monumental miseducation about Filipinos in Cambridge and 51 other cities
https://www.cambridgeday.com/2022/03/07/the-hiker-statue-is-monumental-miseducation-about-filipinos-in-cambridge-and-51-other-cities/?fbclid=IwAR35AUyywPzxnboBRa3BHcwvLc3E1WF2AvRiUp1dZtfcPf6hMVIZIbvG1zc

‘One diamond could have bought two airports’ – the Filipino recreating Imelda Marcos’s gems stash
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/mar/01/pio-abad-imelda-marcos-jewellery-philippines-stash-gems-plundering-filipino?fbclid=IwAR0NI93OMuBNAJyip-AWdDDjFJHplGhe2ucyHAQlDcb_WpTn6hviZQuW9mg

Around the world in 80 Pinoy adobos
https://philstarlife.com/living/715309-pinoy-adobos?page=2

How this son of a Filipino fruit picker helped shape a trendsetting New York movement
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/art/02/27/22/filipino-artist-helped-shape-a-60s-new-york-movement

Filipina Actress Hailed As ‘Mega Star’ Cast In ‘Mango Bride’ Adaptation
https://www.latintimes.com/filipina-actress-hailed-mega-star-cast-mango-bride-adaptation-507086?fbclid=IwAR3u9D65qq3Mxu9g_5zTd61yL32Vg2Ou2mGBENqg1fo4PCHm_BqK0Rq4bTo

The East Bay is the Bay Area’s great unsung destination for Filipino food
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/filipino-food-restaurants-hayward-union-city-16969628.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headlines&utm_campaign=sfc_chroniclefood&sid=53bb0669fdd5ac0b52000049

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino